Connecticut: Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing filing and signer

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-340 defines the relevant fiduciary to include the executor or administrator. Under § 45a-341, that fiduciary makes the inventory, signs it under penalty of false statement, and files it in the Probate Court having jurisdiction. Neither the statute nor official PC-440 adds an oath, acknowledgment, notary, witness, or appraiser signature.

Deadline and extension

The exact trigger is bond acceptance or other qualification—not the date of death and not necessarily the date printed on an appointment decree. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-341 requires filing within two months after that trigger. For cause, the court may extend the deadline, but not beyond four months from qualification.

Property scope and valuation

For a Connecticut decedent's estate, official PC-440 calls for all solely owned assets, including fractional shares, at date-of-death market value. It excludes out-of-state real property, jointly owned property, and property passing by beneficiary designation. For Connecticut realty, the form asks for the recorded deed, property address, decedent's interest, fair market value, unpaid mortgage balance, and net value; an underwater interest is reported as zero.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-341 separately addresses nonresident estates. The Connecticut inventory includes the decedent's interest in in-state real and tangible personal property and intangible personal property, except that intangible property is omitted when the Connecticut proceeding is ancillary to one elsewhere. Out-of-state personal property may be inventoried with value evidence the court finds sufficient.

Appraisal method

The fiduciary appraises or causes the inventoried property to be appraised at fair market value under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-341. The statute does not require a separate professional appraiser or state a qualification or disinterest standard for someone the fiduciary uses. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-346 resolves the court's role categorically: “There shall be no court-appointed appraisers of any decedent's property.”

Copies and recipients

At filing, Connecticut Probate Court Rules of Procedure § 30.12 (2026) requires the executor or administrator to send the inventory and every supplemental or substitute inventory to each party and attorney of record and certify that delivery to the court. When a will or testamentary trust has a charitable interest, the executor also sends the Attorney General a copy. A beneficiary of a specific bequest who has acknowledged receipt in writing is excused from this copy requirement once the acknowledgment is filed.

The inventory provisions and Rule 30.12 do not state an inventory-specific sealing or confidentiality rule. Court filing should therefore not be converted into a claim here about unrestricted public access; general Probate Court record-access rules govern that separate question.

What trips people up

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-342 is a noncompliance provision, not an appraisal-appointment statute. If the fiduciary misses the deadline, the court may issue a show-cause citation. Unless the fiduciary shows sufficient cause and files the inventory and appraisal immediately, the court must remove the fiduciary and appoint a successor.

Correction has both a form route and a contest route. PC-440 labels substitute or corrected and supplemental inventory types. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-343, any interested party may file a written, basis-specific objection from the inventory filing through the final-account hearing. The objection hearing must occur at least 15 and no more than 60 days after filing, and the court may order any amendment it finds proper.

Common questions

Must the Probate Court appoint an appraiser?

No. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-346 prohibits court-appointed appraisers. Section 45a-341 leaves valuation with the fiduciary, who may appraise or cause appraisal.

Do I send the inventory only to people who ask for it?

No. Rule 30.12 requires copies at filing to each party and attorney of record, subject to its written-acknowledgment exception, and adds the Attorney General when the specified charitable interest exists.

Can someone challenge a listed value before the estate closes?

Yes. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-343 permits an interested party to object in writing any time after inventory filing and before the hearing on the final account.

Statutes and sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-340 to -341 — fiduciary, inventory, property, value, and deadline. “The fiduciary shall appraise or cause to be appraised such inventoried property at its fair market value.” Official Chapter 802b (accessed August 10, 2026).
• Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-342 to -343 — late filing, objections, and amendments. “The court, upon such hearing, shall hear the objections and may order the fiduciary to amend the inventory or appraisal in any way that it finds proper.” Official Chapter 802b (accessed August 10, 2026).
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-346 — no court-appointed appraisers. “There shall be no court-appointed appraisers of any decedent's property.” Official Chapter 802b (accessed August 10, 2026).
• Probate Court Rule 30.12 — copies and recipients. The executor or administrator sends inventory copies “at the time of filing, to each party and attorney of record.” Official 2026 Probate Court Rules (accessed August 10, 2026).
• PC-440 — statewide inventory form and instructions. “DECEDENT'S ESTATES: List all solely owned assets, including fractional shares; use market value as of date of death.” Official PC-440 (accessed August 10, 2026).